Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam 08th MS Team Fan Fiction ❯ Amalgam Gundam ❯ The Seeds of Descent ( Chapter 19 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Narrator: Universal Colony Year 118 was the year of triumphs and defeats. Five Gundam pilots overthrew the Thallosian Empire, sending it into mass chaos. However, shortly after the final defeat of the tyrannical force, an armada of ships from the planet Earth arrived, claiming ownership on all of the colonies. Not wanting to fall into dictatorial rule again, the colonies once again united to stand against the new oppressor. However, some colonies have decided to join the Earth Sphere and show them how to defeat the Thallosians and the rest of the colonies...





"So, what would you like to begin with?" Clarke Axem asked as he and his latest customers walked the halls of his space station.

General Yamato eyed his surroundings with great interest. Auto-repair drones were everywhere in the metallic blue corridors, maintaining regular maintenance on the massive space station and ensuring that nothing came to fault... not even each other. Yamato was convinced that if there were any real threat in Thallosian space, it would come from Clarke Axem himself and the huge stockpile of mobile suits and mobile armors he claimed to have.

Yamato then looked over at Edmond Shibumi, the representative of the colonies that wished to join the Earth Sphere. He was no older than seventeen, yet the boy seemed to be a hardened soldier. Yamato wondered if this were because of some tragedy in the boy's life or if he had always been a soldier. Yamato had read the reports about the state of affairs of the colonies before the resistance against the Thallosian Empire and wondered what sort of horrors the boy had endured to make him so... cold. However, he needed to get back to the important matters - i.e. ensuring that the Earth Sphere was not bested by a bunch of ragtag, inferior colonies.

"I wish to know as much about these mobile suits as you can tell me." Yamato stated.

"That would take many years, which I doubt you have. What I can do is recommend some models and give you the specific details about each one's weapons that indicates why it would be a formidable weapon against your enemies." Axem responded.

"Well, then, for starters, what exactly is jamming the sensors of our warships? When we engaged in combat with them, we couldn't get a lock on a single one of those things." Yamato inquired.

"Ah, the Minovsky field. Minovsky particles are naturally produced by the power systems of mobile suits, jamming most sensor equipment. In massive quantities, they can be quite effective in jamming communications and normal power regulation. However, most mobile suit sensors have been adapted to get around the Minovsky field." Axem explained.

"You said you had new mobile suits to show us, Axem. We can get to the science of it all later." Edmond said, almost having a growl in his voice.

"Well said, Edmond." Axem replied as they walked through a new doorway.

The new room was an observation deck looking out onto a large platform. Standing in the middle of the deck was a single mobile suit that was obviously a Gundam by the head design. It had large vernier engines in the back of it, but its color was entirely gray and white, almost as if it lacked any power whatsoever. Axem walked up to the window and turned to the group, holding his arm as if he were presenting the machine at a lavish ceremony.

"Allow me to introduce the pride and joy of my new mobile suits - the Strike Gundam."






"You haven't said anything for three hours." Den stated.

It was the truth. Den and Melanie were on their way back to LX-059 after their meeting with the other two Gundam pilots. Ever since Melanie had come back from the battle with Marianna, she had been withdrawn and mostly silent, usually only to speak when it came to matters of the military or combat philosophy. She hadn't even thanked Den for bringing her to his home colony so that she could rest. He worried that such a thing was only going to destroy her eventually, so he decided to finally take matters into his own hands after she failed to reply to him.

Den accessed the communications console in his Gundam, Golem, and transmitted a signal into Jubilee Zero. Melanie took a look at her communications console as a red light on it flashed, having ignored Den's previous communication. Her eyes went wide as her Gundam's energy levels suddenly started to drop, causing her to lose forward thrust. As Jubilee Zero began to finally slow to simply having momentum carry her, Golem came in front of the Gundam and pulled on the now-limp Mech so that it had stopped.

Melanie ran a quick internal diagnostic on her systems. She wasn't sure what Den had done to her machine, but it was obvious that the power drain was getting worse. Her communications panel remained online, but weapons, defense, and propulsion were all quickly defeated. Life support was beginning to drain, but at a much slower rate. Melanie ignored the warnings about life support because even if internal heat and airflow were compromised, she would still have an hour's worth of heat and oxygen before any serious problem developed. The communication's console once again began beeping, this time with a blue light to indicate a visual transmission from Den.

Melanie pushed the appropriate switches, seeing Den's face appear on her front screen.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded to know.

"You know exactly what this is about. For a week now you've been withdrawn from everything and everyone, only piping in your opinion when it came to matters of battle, war, and the military. What in heaven's name is wrong with you?! A month ago, you were just a sweet little girl who had been thrown into a bad situation because of Marianna's cruelty. What happened to that girl?" Den asked.

"She was burned in the fires of war and what remained of her is what you see today. I don't have to explain myself to you, Den."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Melanie! You and I have been through too much together for you to just toss me aside because you're feeling depressed."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Den. I'm not depressed at all." Melanie said, smirking.

"Then what is it that you call the doom and gloom attitude you've been giving everyone for the past week?"

"Contemplation. Piloting the new Jubilee... changed me. It was for the better, I assure you, for now I finally understand it."

"Understand what?" Den asked, now even more worried about his friend than ever.

"My destiny. Oh, I thought about it long and hard after I first joined you guys. I kept asking myself, 'Why was I spared when every one and every thing I knew and loved were destroyed?' After I flew Jubilee Zero and fought Marianna in her mobile armor, I had an epiphany. The Empire of Thallos has always been oppressive to the colonies in one way or another. Whether it be in the form of tariffs or taxation, military conquest, or political recognition as independent nations. Thallos and its people will always attempt to murder colonials and spacenoids or oppress them in some way. I won't let it happen any more. There is one logical solution to it and I intend to do it. Edmond was right - not one of them is an innocent to be pitied. We must kill every last one of them, Den! We must slaughter the Thallosians to bring this sector of space to peace!"

Den had heard enough. He had worried that something about the new Gundam had changed her in some way. There was no way a simple battle could change a person so drastically. No matter what the history books or the news reports might say about the battle between the Apsalus IV and Jubilee Zero, it was still just a battle. It had been just two combatants who never once saw one another face to face during the length of it. Such a thing couldn't be responsible for such a drastic alteration.

As such, Den decided to take matters into his own hands.

While Jubilee Zero had been on LX-059, Den had had the scientists and engineers study it extensively. As time went on and Melanie's personality began to drift away, replaced by one who thought only of war and battle, he had made sure to install safeguards to protect Melanie from herself... and from any others who were in her way. The first had been the defective power conduit that simply overloaded the rest of the systems to the point where the main power systems went into emergency shutdown, which Den had activated with his signal. The next safeguard was a little bit more elaborate, but just as effective, since he thought that he might need to incapacitate the pilot completely.

Den punched in the signal code, and a series of electrical shocks suddenly coursed through Melanie's console, traveling into her conductive body and shocking her system. She yelped and screamed once before she slumped into the back of her seat, falling unconscious instantly. Seeing that his longtime friend was now unconscious, Den sent the signal to deactivate the power conduit and let Jubilee power up again and restore life support.

After all, it was still another hour and a half before they reached LX-059 again.







"So, what are you going to do with her?" Kenola asked over the communications link.

"The Doctors are going to have another look at her. There has to be something wrong with her that they can track down. We had only a week to do examinations on Jubilee Zero the last time it was here. This time we're going to rip it apart and put it back together again until we find out what it did to Melanie." Den responded.

"Are you even sure that the problem is with the Gundam and not with Melanie herself?" Aram asked, showing a seriousness that he wasn't usually prone to demonstrating.

"You see what she was like the instant that that machine was activated. The problem's in there, not Melanie. What in the hell could it be that's done this?" Den speculated.

"Why don't we take it to the source and ask him?" Aram inquired.

"You mean go to Clarke Axem and just ask him what he did to our friend?" Kenola asked for clarification.

"Exactly! Axem was obviously the one who built the damn thing in the first place, so we need to go to him directly and find out what he did to make Melanie so crazy." Aram said.

The two stared at him.

"Aram, when the hell did you ever have good ideas?" Den queried.

"Guys, I've always been this smart. I just don't like to show it. Image to maintain, you know?" Aram laughed, striking a pose inside of his Gundam.

"Well, get your image over to Axem's space station. Don't start any trouble until we arrive, just say that we have to talk to him and that it's a matter of great importance." Den ordered.

"Wait a second, shouldn't we be getting ready for the Earth Sphere? It's not like they're going to hit 'pause' on the war just because our friend is in the hospital." Aram stated.

"We'll keep in contact with our colonies and alert them to our relative situations. We'll coordinate from space how we're going to win this war and keep the Earth Sphere from taking us." Kenola responded.

"This is... kind of different, you know?" Aram said, suddenly seeming to be a little uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Den asked.

Aram continued, "Open war. We took out the Empire through guerilla tactics and subversion. This is direct, all-out, unyielding war. It's... different."

The others didn't reply at first.

"Just do your job, Aram. That's all we can ever do." Den stated, quickly closing the communications channel and shutting his screen off.






"Edmond Shibumi has left. A political crisis has developed on his colony and they require his services back where they can be used." Clarke Axem explained to General Yamato.

The General stood up and set down his drink, smiling.

"Frankly, I'm more than a little relieved about that. The boy can be... quite frightening when he needs to be." he stated.

Clarke Axem grinned his demonic grin and intertwined his long, bony fingers as he tilted his head to the side and put his hand up to the doorway of the dining room, offering the General the chance to walk through it.

"So, would you like to see the special project I've been working on for some time?" Axem invited.

General Yamato nodded and quickly followed Axem. He was lead to the elevator and brought down to the second-lowest level of the space station. When the elevator reached its destination, a series of gas jets opened up and both Axem and the General were sprayed with gas. Axem explained that it was to sterilize both of them, since the genetics laboratory was a dust and germ-free zone. After the process was completed, the doors opened and the two walked into the lab.

The two walked down the walkway of the laboratory towards a single glass tube in the center of the room. Inside of the tube was a single naked man suspended in some sort of blue liquid. Despite the liquid's effect on the color, Yamato could tell that the person had red hair. The man's eyes were closed, so Yamato couldn't identify his eye color, but what was particularly strange about the man was that his body was littered with burn marks, particularly the kind that Yamato had seen happen on people who had gone through an atmosphere drop with very little protection.

"I found him in the wreckage of a Gundam several months ago on one of Thallos' moons. Thallos was in its night cycle, so nothing picked him up until my own sensors detected the materials of the machine he was in. I'm sure it was a magnificent machine, whatever kind of Gundam it was, but the pilot was nearly half-dead from radiation, broken bones, and atmospheric burns. Despite all of that, he managed to still breathe and live, which is why I took him here."

Yamato stepped closer, examining the man who seemed thin thanks to muscle atrophy.

"He never fully recovered enough for me to ask him any questions, not that it matters now. I've pumped so many drugs into his system and have manipulated him to the point that I doubt even he knows who he is anymore. However, whatever trauma he was having at the time of the crash, it seems to have a profound effect on his piloting skills. When I put him through the simulator, he managed to eliminate thirty Gundams within five minutes. He is THE ultimate pilot. I've programmed him to be completely obedient to whatever commands you give him and he's done the best percentage scores while in the Strike Gundam simulator."

Yamato turned around to Axem. "His name?"

Axem continued smiling. "Amuro Ray."






To Be Continued...